Jeff Fisher believes he left the Los Angeles Rams 'in pretty good shape' helping lead to the club's quick turnaround this season.
The players Fisher references made it clear they credit Sean McVay and the current coaching staff guiding the Rams to their first division title since 2003.
"I would like to say I can speak for the guys who have been here, and everything we went through," linebacker Robert Quinn said, via the L.A. Daily News. "With McVay and [defensive coordinator] Wade [Phillips] leading this team, I don't know what they did, but they just brought the best out of everybody, brought some new guys in and everybody rose up to the challenge."
While Fisher might be glowing over what his former players have accomplished, their play this season underscores the poor job he did coaxing the most out of that talent. Meanwhile, L.A.'s quick turnaround has McVay as the favorite to win Coach of the Year honors.
Whereas Fisher could never conjure up a sustainable offense, under the hotshot young McVay the Rams have more than doubled their total points from last season (2017: 465 total points; 224 points in 2016, last in NFL). L.A.'s increase of 17 PPG over last season is the largest single-season improvement in the Super Bowl era (31.0 in 2017, 14.0 in 2016).
McVay's scheme, along with a revamped offensive line, have helped Todd Gurley dash into the MVP conversation.
More than anything, however, the rookie coach helped morph a lost, meandering quarterback into a productive playmaker at the sport's most important position.
"It's just everything he's done since he got here," Jared Goff said of McVay. "From day one, it's been so impressive. He hasn't changed a bit. Same demeanor every day, and goes about his business the same way, and I think it rubs off on the players and rubs off on me for sure."
Between McVay and Phillips, the Rams now own a coaching staff that puts its players in position to get the most out of their talent. Fisher might have left L.A. in pretty good shape, but it's the new men in charge who put the "7-9 bull----" in the rearview.
